Dreams Informative Speech

Hello my name is and I would like to start by asking you to sit back and close your eyes, but then again you may fall asleep. I would prefer you not to do that, but if you were to, you might just experience the very thing I am going to inform you of today. And thats about Dreams

Dreams are something we all experience every night, whether we remember them or not. 1/3 of your life is spent sleeping, and in that time, you all will experience thousands of dreams. The 3 key items I want to talk about are dream theories, how a dream works, and if we can really interpret our dreams.

Those theories essentially fall into two categories:

* The idea that dreams are only physiological stimulations and * The idea that
dreams are psychologically necessary

Let's take a closer look at these theories.

Physiological theories are based on the idea that we dream in order to exercise various neural connections that some researchers believe affect certain types of learning.

Psychological theories are based on the idea that dreaming allows us to sort through problems, events of the day or things that are requiring a lot of our attention.
Many researchers and scientists also believe that perhaps it is a combination of the two theories.

I would like for you to understand that there are numerous theories about dreams, but whomever you are, where ever you live, you will dream. Whether it's a good dream or a nightmare is up to your own mind. Now let's look a little deeper into what actually happens in the brain when we dream.

When we sleep, we go through five sleep stages. The first stage is a very light sleep from which it is easy to wake up. The second stage moves into a slightly deeper sleep, and stages three and four represent our deepest sleep. Our brain activity throughout these stages is gradually slowing down so that by deep sleep, we experience nothing but the slowest brain waves delta brain waves. About 90 minutes after we go to sleep and after the fourth sleep stage, we begin REM sleep.
Rapid eye movement known as (REM) was discovered in 1953 by University of Chicago researchers Eugene
Aserinsky, and Nathaniel Kleitman. REM sleep is
primarily characterized by movements of the eyes and is the fifth stage of sleep.During REM sleep, several physiological changes also take place. The heart rate and breathing quickens, the blood pressure rises, we can't regulate our body temperature as well and our brain activity increases to the same level (alpha) as when we are awake, or even higher.
The rest of the body, however, is essentially paralyzed until we leave REM sleep. This paralysis is caused by the release of glycine, an amino acid, from the brain stem onto the motoneurons (neurons that conduct impulses outward from the brain or spinal cord). Because
REM sleep is the sleep stage at which most dreaming takes place, this paralysis could be nature's way of making sure we don't act out our dreams.
Otherwise, if you're sleeping next to someone who is dreaming about playing kickball, you might get kicked repeatedly while you sleep.

The four stages outside of REM sleep are called non-REM sleep
(NREM). Although most dreams do take place during REM sleep, more recent research has shown that dreams can occur during any of the sleep stages. Tore A. Nielsen, Ph.D., of the Dream and Nightmare
Laboratory in Montreal, refers to this as "covert REM sleep" making an appearance during NREM sleep. Most NREM dreams, however, don't have the intensity of REM dreams.
Throughout the night, we go through these five stages several
times.
Each subsequent cycle, however, includes more REM sleep and less deep sleep (stage three and four). By morning, we're having almost all stage one, two and five (REM) sleep.

Everyone may know the main idea of a dream, but few may know that the explanations behind dreams are far more intricate than just being a simple random thought in your mind. It's not uncommon to have problems with interpretation. The main thing that you have to realize is that you have the answer.
Sometimes it's easy to see. Sometimes it isn't. The best approach to tackling a tough dream is to relax. If you become worried easily and find that when trying to work with and analyze one of your dreams you quickly begin to become exasperated by its difficulty, it may be a good idea to get relaxed first. Just because it doesn't come to you right away could be a good sign. It has been found that the more difficult the dream, the more important it is to your life. The main thing you need to realize is that the dream will come to you, whether it takes a few mintues, hours, or possibly the next day.
Give it some time, because it may not be ready to reveal it's true meaning. All you need to do is make a record of the dream and one day it may make so much sense to you that you couldn't possibly imagine why it gave you so much trouble. Give it some time, because it may not be ready to reveal it's true meaning.

I want to close with some Facts that have been found on dreams.

* Most dreams last anywhere from five to 20 minutes. * Even though you may not remember them, everyone dreams

* Alquinte.com: Precognitive Dreams * Center for Sleep Research: Sleep and Dreaming * Domhoff, G. William. A New Neurocognitive Theory of Dreams. * Domhoff, G. William. The Repetition Principle in Dreams: Is It a Possible Clue to a Function of Dreams? * DreamMoods.com: Common Dreams * DreamSchool.org: Common Dreams * International Association for the Study of Dreams: Common Questions About Nightmares * LifeTreks.com: Dream Interpretation * Mnemonic Induction Of Lucid Dreams (MILD) Technique * Nielsen, Tore A. Mentation in REM and NREM Sleep. * Parker, Derek and Julia. Parkers Complete Book of Dreams * Siegel, Jerome M. The REM Sleep-Memory Consolidation Hypothesis. * Reed, Henry, Ph.D. Incubating Dreams Solves Problems: A description of two studies * Tholey, Paul. Overview of the Development of Lucid Dream Research in Germany